Eyre pulled up to the gate of the Air Force base. Things were getting fairly bad for Sarah her pulse was thready she could hear it. She shielded her eyes from the flashlight that the Airman was shining in her face. Her headlights were out because they had been damaged by gunfire and rock shards.

“Ma’am are you alright?”

Eyre looked at the dried blood on her hands.

“I’m fine but I have a high value asset in the back set she has a gunshot wound I need a secure hospital to get her patched up. She’s lost a lot of blood and her pulse is thready this is an emergency.”

He nodded motioned to his partner to come watch the car. He reached through the window and put his fingers on her Sarah’s neck. Checked the wound. Swore as he spoke into his radio.

“Gunshot wound Front gate; She’s got a weak pulse need help now!”

The Senior Airman waved for Eyre to get out of the car. She had turned off her holo-web so she was wearing only her Atlantean armor that looked like an armored body suit, her pack and a holstered pistol and a knife in her boot. She’d put the sword away. She got out with her hands up. He glanced at his partner and instead of patting her down just took her pistol. He took her pack and looked inside it pulling out her ID and the National Emergency Declaration, the executive order authorizing her as a federal agent and the documentation showing that all of Sarah’s rights had been revoked. He held up a flashlight and read them over. By the time he was halfway through the first document a Humvee had screeched to a halt on the other side of the gate and four women were loading Sarah onto a stretcher and started taking her vitals. He kept reading his eyes getting wider.

“Call the General.”

“Are you kidding it’s one in the morning.”

The Senior Airman flashed his light on the President’s signature.

“Call the fucking General.”

He put the documents back in her pack and put it over his shoulder and kept his assault rifle leveled at Eyre. Eyre kept her arms up. The Senior Airman was now distracted by the damage to the car. It had been hit by several armor piercing rounds. The reinforced run flat tires had several holes in them and were now deflated.

“Ma’am someone really wants you dead.”

Eyre shook her head.

“The asset very valuable to us alive, just as valuable to them dead.”

The other gate guard’s head poked out of the gate office.

“He wants to talk to her.”

The one guarding her motioned with his head and kept his weapon trained on her. She took the offered phone. The first words she said were.

“Is this line secure, Sir?”

“It is not.”

“Then I cannot say much.”

“Understood. What do you need?”

“I need patching up. I need security and I need this to not get out. And I need transport that can’t be traced.”

“I will send an escort. Give the phone Senior Airman please.”

“Thank you, sir.”

The Senior Airman said four very curt yes sirs and his cheeks grew redder, then hung up. He made a motion for his partner to lower his weapon.

“Return her things. He’s authorized her.”

“Even the gun?”

“We are to return everything, and we are under strict orders to keep this need to know. Call motor pool he also told me to get this…”

He motioned to the SUV.

“Out of sight.”

One opened the gate and the other drove it through and behind a privacy fence that bordered the base. The other handed Eyre back all her things.

“Sorry ma’am.”

“I understand. I wouldn’t expect anything less of US forces. Its why I came here.”

He saluted her. She saluted him back. She walked inside the base and crossed her arms and paced. It took about ten minutes for her ride to show up. It was another Humvee. She got in and was driven to the base hospital by a female private who said nothing and kept her eyes front. When they arrived, Eyre was met by the base commander who looked like he was still ready to sleep but he had his uniform on. He met her halfway and motioned for her follow him.

“She is in surgery. They are hopeful, that’s all I got.”

Eyre nodded. She crossed with her arms and wrapped her hands around her biceps.

“That kid is really this important?”

Eyre nodded.

“She could save thousands of lives. If she survives.”

“Jesus. So young, I have a daughter that age.”

“She poked her nose in where she shouldn’t, and where we haven’t been able to. It makes her valuable. I leaked info that she is deceased, it is important she stays that way at least on paper.”

“If she’s dead they think they got her and it’s over.”

“That is my hope, sir. I appreciate you taking us in.”

“I saw your SUV on camera. Major they must make you Brits with nerves of steel it looks like it has been a through a war.”

“Comes with the job. At least it was armored.”

“Why all the hardware?”

“That girl in there is one of the most dangerous people in the US. She has Intel MI6 and the CIA need, so she is on our side now. That means people want her dead.”

“A girl that age is that dangerous? You have to be joking.”

“I can’t go into detail, but she understands computers and networks in a way few do, she is like a savant at breaking through firewalls, and into systems. Basically, if she wasn’t on our side, now, they’d be renaming the computer fraud and abuse act after her.”

“But that paperwork you have basically turns her into a piece of equipment. She has no rights. That seems like a lot of trouble.”

“Her parents were resistant. Once she is off US soil they can fight until they’re blue in face. She’ll never be coming back.”

“That seems drastic, she looks like she’s twelve.”

“The fact the president signed these after a twenty-minute briefing should tell you how dangerous she is. She’s a mother who lost her daughter. She knows exactly what we were asking. And she did it anyway.”

He went a bit pale.

“We need her alive. In a world where computers do almost everything for us, she is a living weapon, she may as well be a walking talking nuke. Russia’s tried to track her down. Her response was to launch one of their own cruise missiles at the building they were doing it from. Killed sixty people.”

He looked a bit sick to his stomach.

“She’s a kid.”

“She’s a kid who up until today was well on the way to working for us willingly. Now I’m not so sure she’s going to be cooperative.”

“Why?”

“We made agreements with her. I know with the paperwork we could just snatch her. But she wanted a party with her friends, paid for by us. Going to be hard to swing with people after a gaping bullet wound in her shoulder.”

“That’s it.”

“She’s a teenager.”

“I will cut off a wing of the hospital. Post guards until she can travel.”

Eyre shook her head.

“No need. Once she is out and stable, we should move.”

“She has a gunshot wound and is in critical condition.”

“I’m willing to risk it. I have boots on the ground dealing with the foreign actors. I’m more concerned with how they found out any of what was going on. I had an ankle monitor on her that was on a closed network. Someone is working for the other side and was giving away our location.”

“It is not on her now, is it?”

Eyre shook her head.

“No, we’re using it as a decoy. When they go to find it, my agent will deal with them.”

“One?”

“She is efficient. Need the loop small. Which is my concern with staying here. If someone in the president’s office is feeding intel, we could be looking at an attempt here. The real problem is if they could track her monitor, then they know where our plane is. So that is compromised too. We’re going to have to drive.”

He nodded.

“You seem to have it all under control.”

“I hope so. Thanks again General.”

“Good luck.”

He walked off, probably to get some sleep. Eyre paced. It was four am before Sarah was out of surgery. The lead surgeon approached Eyre.

“She’ll be fine, was pretty bad, you did a lot of damage trying to remove the bullet.”

“Had to be done. Could have been a tracker or poisoned.”

“I get that, we ran a full tox screen. Came back positive for amphetamines, high levels of what seems to be some form of mind control cocktail that should never be given together under any circumstances. She has very low levels of hormones. I’m concerned someone has been dosing her with puberty blockers and anti-psychotic meds. Kid that age should not be on any of that if they want her to be normal.”

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“I know. It has been dealt with. She has ADHD, so amphetamines are to be expected.”

“I’m beating around the bush here. She needs detox and she’ll need round the clock medical supervision for it. Between that and the gunshot wound. She needs to be in a hospital. A real hospital.”

“It will be dealt with. How long until the anesthetic wears off?”

“Thirty minutes give or take.”

“Okay get her ready for transport as soon as she is awake.”

“It is not safe to move her.”

“It doesn’t matter it needs to be done.”

“You will put her life in danger if you move her.”

“I am well aware of that but I’m doing it.”

“I am writing an official protest in my notes.”

“That is fine. I will take full responsibility.”

He stormed off. Eyre paced some more she received a text message about fifteen minutes before she as due to collect Sarah. Food you asked for is cold, going to complain to delivery driver now. She responded. That sort of food is better warm. She waited several seconds, and a response came, I agree. She put the phone away. She paced. She still needed transportation. She could fly but that wouldn’t help Sarah with her that injured. She still couldn’t waste the blood to fully heal her yet. She couldn’t call in transport either. It would be dawn soon which would nix any of her vampire abilities. She went to the surgery recovery room where they were prepping Sarah for a transport.

“You can stop. I’ll need her to stay here for few more hours.”

To say the nurse who was working on prepping her looked relieved would be an understatement. Eyre went back to the waiting area and continued pacing. If operations on this side were compromised, it meant MANA was compromised. If they were getting through, they were using their own transportation network. She swore under her breath. Mycilli was the one behind this. She shook her head. He had always been a problem even in school. Super supremacy. She paced there for a couple of hours trying to figure out where the portal could be. It could be anywhere in the world. She should have seen this coming. Mycilli had been getting bolder since he managed to erase his signature from MANA records. She paused, maybe he hadn’t, maybe MANA was more compromised than she realized her eyes went wide at the realization.

“Fuck.”

“Excuse me?”

Eyre looked up and it was a woman wearing a Naval Intelligence uniform.

“Sorry I didn’t realize anyone was here.”

“You are the British SIS Major.”

“Yes.”

“I am here to provide assistance. I was notified by command to report here and provide any aid necessary to you.”

She showed her ID and orders. Eyre looked them over, more so she was listening to sixth sense that was telling her the human before her was being honest. She had no way of knowing the motivations of those who sent her, however. Lt Cmdr. Carly Shepard.

“Were you briefed on the value of this asset?”

“I was told that she is dangerous. I had no assessment of her value.”

“We need her alive she has intel vital to NATO interests, specifically US and Britain.”

“Is she stable ma’am?”

“She is for now. I need to move, but I lack transport and I’m starting to realize that the operation is more compromised than I realized, hence my vulgarity.”

“Understood, Ma’am.”

“I would have expected…an operative.”

“I am an operative.”

She tapped her Navy Seal service pin. Eyre raised her eyebrow.

“Do you have transport?”

“I do, it is my brother in law’s minivan. I hope no one is shooting at you.”

“We have neutralized their operations team in the area. I suspect we are past that point in this operation.”

Carly nodded. Eyre paused for a few seconds looked Carly up and down.

“How did you know I was here? And how did you get here so fast there are no Naval bases in Arizona.”

“My boss got a call, from his boss, who got a call from some British woman who had a blank check from a president. I was here for my sister’s wedding, at least I was sober by the time they called. Mostly.”

Eyre sensed the truth and silently thanked Helen.

“I’m sorry you got dragged into this on your vacation.”

“Active military for you. They say jump and I say how high.”

“I just need a ride to a safe house.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

Eyre walked to the recovery room and found the nursing station.

“Hi, I need her prepped ASAP.”

“You shouldn’t be moving her.”

“I’m well aware of that. I have medical support staff at a more secure location.”

The nurse looked like she wanted to say more. But after a glance at the commander behind Eyre she frowned and said:

“She’ll be ready in ten minutes.”

Carly looked up at Eyre.

“She’s stable for transport, right?”

“No, not really but this is not a secure enough location.”

“I’m not okay with this Major.”

“Neither am I, but my choices are limited.”

“There is something you aren’t telling me. I get that she’s important, but something doesn’t feel right.”

Eyre frowned. Just her luck a Seer randomly appearing in her way. She motioned for her to follow her.

“There are definitely things you are not aware of. But the three things I can tell you are: This girl is the most dangerous human being you will likely encounter in your lifetime, she is a high value asset, and if I can get her out of here and to our safe house, she will be fine by the afternoon.”

Carly blinked.

“You’re not lying.”

“No, I’m not and you have a gift, I see why you’re doing the job you do.”

“Not sure what that means but I’ll take it I guess.”

“Look, I will read you in on the real story while we are in transit, I just cannot do it here, to many ears.”

“Understood, Ma’am.”

The nurse approached the pair.

“She is ready for transport, ma’am.”

Eyre approached the bed and picked up Sarah and started carrying her outside. Carly rushed off ahead and by the time Eyre got outside there was a mini-van waiting. She sat Sarah in one of the rear seats and put her seat belt on. She got into the passenger seat.

“She is the most dangerous human I will ever meet. That lanky kid?”

Eyre nodded.

“Yes. You know I’m telling the truth because you have the same gift I do.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Since you can remember you can tell if someone is lying to you, you might even be able to predict someone’s next move. And that feeling people get that things just aren’t right. For you it actually means something is not right. Tell me I’m wrong.”

Carly looked ahead. Eyre could tell she’d struck a chord.

“How do you know that?”

“Because we are similar in that way.”

“You’re making no sense; We just have a well-developed understanding of body language.”

Eyre shook her head.

“You know I said the same thing to my mother.”

“Yes, we both are adept at body language reading, what does that have to do with the kid?”

“That kid has psionic powers.”

“What?”

“She can move stuff with her mind.”

“That’s like sci fi stuff. It doesn’t exist.”

“And that’s what we want you to believe.”

“No… no stuff like that doesn’t exist.”

“Am I lying?”

“You believe what you’re saying, but it doesn’t mean you’re not nuts.”

“This girl has already killed one person and put another in the hospital simply by wanting them too not be there anymore. And the thing I was using to limit her powers had to be removed because that’s how we were being tracked by the people who wanted to use her for their terrorist activities.”

“No, this can’t be true.”

Eyre pulled her phone out her pack and showed Carly.

“This is the address we are heading too.”

Carly nodded and started heading in that direction.

“So, if she’s a psychic what are you?”

“If I tell you, you definitely will not believe me.”

“Can’t be any weirder then having Carrie in the back seat of my brother-in-law’s mini-van.”

“I’m a twelve-hundred-year-old vampire.”

She laughed then glanced at Eyre.

“You really believe that. I hate to break it to you but you’re in the sun right now.”

“Not everything you see in movies is true.”

“Okay, fine, sure, what does a vampire care about teenage girl?”

“I’m the Headmistress of a school for people like her.”

“There’s a school? Like that wouldn’t be all over the internet.”

“Oh, it is back home. But here, here your governments have decided to keep their existence hidden.”

“Where is back home?”

“You understand everything I’m disclosing to you is secret and that if you disclose it, you can suffer punishments up to and including death for treason.”

“You’re funny.”

“No, I’m serious. If you talk about this, I can name eight different governments that will make it their mission to make sure you’re declared legally insane or die in an accident.”

“You really are paranoid.”

Eyre laughed.

“Only because people are out to get me, and my future student.”

Carly pulled the minivan into the driveway and Eyre pressed a button on her phone and the garage door opened. She took Sarah from the back seat and carried her inside. She pressed a button on the wall and black out blinds went down over the windows. Carly followed her inside.

“So, what now?”

“I heal her so she can get to her party this afternoon, then I fill up on blood. As for you, you have a choice, I can erase our memories and send you on your way, or you can see how deep this rabbit hole goes?”

“You expect me to believe you can erase my memory.”

Eyre looked into her eyes.

“You will forget you met me until I say the words sunflower.”

Carly wobbled on her feet. Eyre broke contact. Carly looked around in a slight panic.

“Where am I? Who are you? What did you do to that girl?”

“Sunflower.”

Carly blinked and held her head.

“Holy shit. I couldn’t look away.”

“I told you. Help me clear off the table.”

Carly glanced at Eyre suspiciously now but helped her clear off the dining room table. Eyre put Sarah down and pulled off the bandages. She glanced up at Carly.

“The mental control thing can be done with hypnotism. What I am about to do, it can’t. You can go on your way now memories intact and believe I’m just a really good hypnotist, or you can see what happens next. If you think I’m testing, you I am. Your gift is valuable to us. If I like what I see you could have a place with us.”

Carly shook her head.

“You’re just a weird British lady, what are you going to show me I haven’t seen before at some magic show?”

Eyre nodded. She reached her hand up and undid the seam of her armor and pulled it apart reveling her shoulder.

“Slow down lady, not into women.”

Eyre laughed.

“Neither am I, I just wanted to show you this.”

Eyre touched Sarah’s arm and began chanting and Carly blinked as the wound closed on Sarah and formed in Eyre’s shoulder. Eyre winced held the wound open. Carly had jumped back at first but then she touched the freshly healed skin of Sarah’s shoulder she reached for Eyre’s shoulder. Eyre nodded and she touched Eyre grimaced and couldn’t hold in the sound she made when her gaping wound was poked. She finally let it heal then pulled her armor back up and sealed it.

“That is not how the world works.”

“That is not how the world you know works. Your logical brain is telling you this is all a trick but that gift of yours is telling you it’s all true, you’ve always sensed something just outside your ability to see it, but you could never prove it.”

“Why are you showing me all this? You could have just gotten dropped off here done your healing thing and drive away in that car in the garage? Why bother with me?”

“Like I said a gift like yours is valuable to an organization I work with. It gives you an edge even against super powered beings like Sarah here.”

“I’m not sure I like where this is going.”

“I’m not trying to get you to betray your oath. I’m just reading you into the Op. A contingent from your government is interested an observational visit to my world. The knowledge I’m sharing with you puts you on the short list for that visit. I also invite you to visit my school. See what we do. We are always happy to do exchanges with foreign powers. It lets them see we are working in their best interests as well as our own. Your world is developing beings like Sarah now, as much as we are here to support you, it would be helpful if you could at least do some enforcement on your own we can take care of containment.”

“So, you’re basically trying to start grooming me for some weird position in some black ops federal agency. No thanks, I like working in the open.”

“I would not say grooming, what I would say is: opening your mind to new possibilities.”

“You said containment. Do you imprison people just because they have abilities beyond the normal?”

“Only if they refuse to learn to control them. Or if they use them to harm others.”

“That sounds like a slippery slope and sketchy to me.”

“What happened when your world had 9/11 happen?”

“What you mean my world?”

“That is not important at the moment, what happened?”

“The shit hit the fan; We went full out war with terrorism. We started putting people in places we could torture them.”

“That was what, two thousand civilians?”

“About that.”

“What would have happened if it had been fifty-five million?”

“What are you talking about?”

“On my Earth in 1942 three supers got into a fight. The end result was fifty-five million dead. You can guess how the world reacted.”

Eyre paused.

“So, considering what happened after 9/11, What would happen here, if Sarah here hadn’t been contained so quickly and instead of two people, she wiped out Phoenix? Two million people dead. What would happen to people with superpowers?”

“This kid? No way.”

“This ‘kid’ has the damage potential of a nuclear weapon. All it takes for her to get angry enough. And if she is anything like the last three women born in her family, she’ll be one of our most powerful Sorceresses. Her grandmother is one of our most formidable battle mages. If you want a scale on that, given a couple of hours she could wipe out New York City without the added benefit of being able to generate a telekinetic barrier to protect herself.”

“This can’t be true; I mean you would never let people like that wonder around free.”

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“They would be put down. People would feel guilty afterwards, but no way they survive the retaliation, even if they were innocent.”

“That was the sentiment on my world, until I stopped it in its tracks. Helped build an organization that can stop beings like this and train them if they are willing and integrate them back into society. Now they are just like anyone, they have a few more restrictions and demands on their time, but they are free to pursue lives, have children. Be a baker if they want.”

“How did you manage that?”

“It was 1942, there was no internet the news was a lot easier to lock down. And honestly the people who were developing powers were people’s mothers’ brothers and sisters. Mostly though, I could stop them if they were going bad, the humans of the time were just incapable of any form of containment, capture or putting them down as you say.”

“Do you know how insane this all sounds to me?”

“I am not the right person to ask that question of, I was born in the fourteenth century, the concept of a camera is insane to me. So, my scale for that sort of thing is questionable at best.”

“I thought you said you were twelve hundred years old.”

“That is a long story, let’s just say I got stuck somewhere for four hundred years while on my earth like two weeks passed. That was fun experience. I suppose it is better me then a human who would have been dead for three hundred years before they got pulled back.”

“How.. You know what that sounds like it would give me a headache.”

“Would you like to continue down this path? Or should I send you on your way?”

“I’m in.”

“Are you sure? They say curiosity killed the cat.”

Carly made a sarcastic meow. Eyre smiled and continued.

“Excellent. Let me get filled up, then we can proceed.”

Eyre went to the fridge and started pulling out bags of blood and draining them. Carly looked disquieted.